SmackDown Women's Championship
The SmackDown Women's Championship, previously known as the Women's World Title was introduced by Nikki Bella on May 12th to replace the old WWE Diva's Title. It is the women's championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand. History Nikki Bella first introduced the title to the SmackDown brand, wanting something more modern for the SmackDown women to fight for. Nikki escaped several title challenges from her sister, Brie, and Natalya, but was finally defeated by Natalya in a singles match on the first SmackDown episode of July. Natalya held the belt for over two months before losing it to Paige, who was making her SmackDown debut. Paige made her first defense when she defeated Natalya in a rematch at No Mercy. When Daniel Bryan took control of SmackDown in November, he changed the name and look of the title to match the new Raw Women's Title. Paige's title reign continued, but not without hiccups. She lost twice to Becky Lynch, once by pinfall in a non-title match and the second by count-out with the belt on the line. She would make a successful defense to close 2016, defeating Emma in a triple threat match also featuring Alexa Bliss. Paige's reign would come to an end, as at Elimination Chamber, she was pinned by Alexa Bliss in an excellent triple threat match also involving Charlotte. Alexa defeated Paige in a rematch a few weeks later to keep hold of the gold. On a special Women's Night on SmackDown, The Queen once again became number one contender. At WrestleMania, Charlotte became the new champion via Natural Selection. After Alexa Bliss was cost her rematch by Nia Jax, Nikki Bella would become Charlotte's first challenger, defeating Jax in a number one contender's match. At Backlash, Nikki came up short at reclaiming the championship. Next up was Bayley, who made her SmackDown debut by pinning Charlotte in a non-title match. She would do so again at Money in the Bank, defeating The Queen for a second time to complete her Triple Crown. That major accoplisment would be all for Bayley, who quickly dropped the belt to Emma at Battleground. The championship continued to change hands, as Alexa Bliss would then dethrone Emma at Summerslam, becoming a two-time champion. In a special Champion vs Champion match at No Mercy, Bliss was defeated by Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch. One month later at Halloween Havoc , Alexa Bliss was defeated and destroyed by Nia Jax to lose the belt. Jax was completely dominant, easily beating Bayley at Armageddon and Charlotte at Royal Rumble . The Glamazon Beth Phoenix came out of retirement to challenge Nia at WrestleMania , but she too was dispatched as the dominant reign continued. At Backlash , though, Jax's reign would suddenly come to an end, as Asuka arrived to SmackDown and quickly became champion. The Empress would retain against Ember Moon at Judgment Day , defeated Sasha Banks again at Money in the Bank and took down both Peyton Royce and Billie Kay in a triple threat match at Battleground . Her next challenger would be Kairi Sane, and in an all-Japanese war at Summerslam , the Pirate Princess became champion. Sane and Asuka weren't finished, facing off again at Clash of Champions but this time with Sasha Banks added, who would be pinned by Kairi. Sane would defeat Charlotte Flair at Halloween Havoc , before facing off again with Asuka at Survivor Series . With both women in their homeland of Japan, Asuka would become a two time champion, submitting Kairi with an armbar. Title Reigns __FORCETOC__